Receptionists are employed by many firms and companies to welcome visitors, accept deliveries, and generally attend the entranceways of these firms and companies. Many small businesses and most homes do not have the means to employ someone to just “watch the door”. Yet, the lack can cause problems for those without receptionists and doormen. Moreover, firms that have receptionists and homes or complexes with doormen may experience similar problems when the receptionists or doormen are not in attendance at their posts.
A very common device used as a substitute for a receptionist or a doorman is a doorbell. A home or business may keep its entrance locked to keep out unwanted or surprise visitors. A person may gain entry by ringing the doorbell and waiting for someone to open the door. Use of the doorbell alerts those behind the locked door to the presence of someone at the entrance.
Some places like apartment complexes have an added feature of an intercom for use in gaining entry. A visitor may ring a buzzer for the person he or she desires to visit. The person may speak to the visitor and the visitor may reply over the intercom. If the person decides to let the visitor in, the person may provide a signal that unlocks the entrance to the complex, and the visitor enters.
At times, a doorbell and even a doorbell with an intercom is a poor substitute for a receptionist or doorman. One of these times arises when a delivery is to be made to a location, but nobody answers the doorbell or responds to the intercom. It would be helpful for the delivery person to be able to communicate with the recipient, even if the recipient is not at the location, to obtain the recipient's preference with respect to the delivery. For example, a florist may arrive at a home with a bouquet of fresh flowers, but no one answers the door. The flowers may have to be left on the doorstep where they may be exposed to the elements, left with neighbors, or taken back to the flower shop. It would be helpful if the florist could speak to the recipient about the delivery. The recipient may be home shortly, or have a preference for delivery options. The same problem may be faced by other delivery personnel. If there was a way for the florist or other delivery personnel to easily check with the recipient, the florist or other delivery personnel could handle the flowers or other deliveries in the way the recipient chooses.
Another time the lack of a “doorwatcher” may be a detriment arises when a friend, family member, neighbor or other person stops by, but nobody comes to the door. The visitor may desire to leave a message to give notice that he or she had stopped by. But the doorbell does not allow for any such message delivery, and neither does the intercom unless it has a voicemail function. If the visitor happens to have paper and pen or pencil, the visitor may leave a note. Even if the visitor leaves the note, it may blow away, become illegible due to the elements, may be overlooked, or otherwise fail in its purpose.
Another case where a person may desire to leave a message may come about when a visitor arrives expecting to be met by somebody at the location. For example, a homeowner may have scheduled a service call at a certain time. The service provider arrives at the home, but nobody meets him or her. It would be desirable for the service provider to be able to talk to the homeowner directly to clarify any misunderstanding about meeting times. If the service provider cannot speak directly to the homeowner, the service provider may like to leave a message. The service provider may desire to leave a message to prove he or she had arrived at the appointed time and place. Further, the service provider may desire to leave an informative message such as that he or she will return in an hour, or other message. It would be helpful for the service provider to be able to communicate with the homeowner by leaving a message to set up another time for meeting, to check if the homeowner is running late, etc.
As another example, a person may have agreed to meet a friend at the friend's apartment to travel together to a restaurant. But when the person arrives, nobody answers the doorbell or responds to the intercom. The person probably would like to speak directly with the friend to check on the meeting arrangements. If the person cannot speak directly to the friend, the person may desire to leave a message that he or she has gone to the restaurant. As noted with the visitor who stops by, a doorbell and an intercom (without a voicemail function) do not allow for messages to be left for the occupants of the location. It would be helpful if the person could communicate with the friend by leaving a message, even if the friend is not at home. In this situation, the person may desire to check with the friend to see if the friend has gone to the restaurant, has forgotten the appointment, is running late, etc. Neither the doorbell nor the intercom allows a visitor to check with a person if the person fails to answer the doorbell or the intercom.
The failings of doorbells and intercoms as substitutes for a receptionist or doorman may be problematic as well for the people associated with the location that lacks a receptionist or a doorman. The people associated with the location do not receive information from the doorbell or the intercom (without voice mail function). From the doorbell or intercom (without voicemail function), the people at the location do not know if anybody stopped by or arrived for an appointment or otherwise.
Another problem with a doorbell or an intercom is that it may malfunction or may not be heard, and therefore fail to alert the people inside the location that someone has arrived.
As noted, a problem with doorbells is they generally do not allow for the exchange of information between somebody on the inside of the location and somebody on the outside. Before opening an entrance to a visitor, a person inside the location may desire to know the identity of the visitor and/or the visitor's purpose. The person inside may desire this information for security, privacy, or other reasons such as a desire to not be interrupted from current activity by just any visitor. This information cannot be gained unless the doorbell is upgraded at least to include an intercom function. Such functionality may be cost prohibitive. Such functionality may be impossible to implement in some entrances. Further, such functionality may not accomplish the desire of the person associated with the location to screen his or her visitors without the visitors knowing of such screening. With an intercom, the person inside the location may have to talk to the person outside the door, and by such communication, reveal he or she is at home. If the person inside the location turns away the visitor after determining his or her identity or purpose, the visitor may be offended by the person's action. For screening purposes, it is generally preferable the persons being screened are unaware of such screening.
On the other hand, an unanswered doorbell or intercom is considered by some people to pose a security risk. The person ringing the doorbell or using the intercom may conclude from the failure to answer that nobody is home or nobody is present at the location. This information may serve as incentive for the unlawful entry onto the premises for burglary, or other reasons.
Accordingly, there is a need for a way of information exchange between a person arriving at a location where no one answers the door or responds to an intercom and a person associated with the location. There is also a need for a way for a person arriving at a location, who encounters an unanswered doorbell or intercom, to leave a message for a person associated with the location. There is a need for the message to be left so it does not fail in its purpose such as by being blown away, by being made illegible by the elements, or by being overlooked. In addition, there also is a need for a way for an occupant of a location to be able to screen his or her visitors, and preferably, without giving away the occupant is present in the location. Further, there is a need in some cases for a way for a person associated with a location, but not located inside the location, to be able to respond to a visitor who arrives at the entrance of the location by giving the visitor the impression the location is occupied.